Chapter 11
Homecoming

"Um, hello," — Naru froze, hand poised halfway to his teacup. That voice — it couldn't be — "Is Kazuya here?"

Mai's gaze seemed to thaw him. Her brown eyes were as round as saucers, flicking back and forth between him and the stranger as if she were watching a tennis match. "...Na...ru?"

"Oh, no. I'mー"

Naru jerked in surprise, elbow knocking into the boiling tea kettle as it hit the counter with a loud clang. Water sloshed out, soaking through his shirt. He peeled the fabric back, hissing as it burned his skin. He set the kettle into the sink, crossing the short distance to Mai who looked at him as if he had two heads.

Around the corner, he caught a glimpse of Gene's shaggy black hair as he stood from a slight bow. His skin was pallid and beneath his eyes were the smudges of sleeplessness that made him look more like the ghost of his twin. As Gene straightened, his dark eyes found Naru. They raked over him, pausing at his wet shirt before finding the healing scab on his cheek. After a moment, a relieved smile broke over his face. "I was hoping I'd find you here."

"Gene? Why aren't you in England?" Naru felt awkward standing there with his shirt still pinched between his fingers, damp with dirty leaf water. A heat crept up his neck as he imagined he could feel the others raking their eyes over them in turn, searching for the difference. "You aren't supposed to be here until Sunday."

Gene, used to his twins' lack of tact, simply grinned, arms outstretched. "Yet here I am."

"U-um," Mai stammered, rising from her seat. She looked between the two with large doe eyes before settling on the newcomer.

"Mai," Naru seethed. Gene's fading smile felt like base treachery. "This is my older brother, Yuujin."

Gene raised a hand in greeting to the room. "Please call me Gene."

"Takigawa Houshou," the monk said from his place on the love seat. He didn't bother to hide his curiosity as he looked from one twin to the other. "So, there's two of you? Well, things are certainly going to be interesting."

Gene gave a tentative half smile while Naru tried to squeeze the water from his shirt. It was no use and only succeeded in wrinkling the fabric. On the other end of the couch, Hara-san was staring intently down at her hands folded in her lap. Her short black hair had fallen forward, hiding her face, but she didn't need an introduction. Just as Naru had, Gene recognized her flower patterned purple kimono, his eyes widening by a fraction. Naru watched him watching her, Mai's voice in his head. I guess girls like Masa-chan are more your type.

She was half right.

"Pleased to meet you, Gene-san." Mai bowed, breaking the awkward tension with a smile firm on her lips. "I'm Taniyama Mai."

"I was wondering when I'd finally get to meet you," Gene chuckled. "I hope my little brother hasn't caused you too much trouble."

"Now that you mention it," Mai looked sideways at Naru who glared back, affronted, "he complains a lot, but he's not entirely useless."

Naru gave up on his shirt and crossed his arms. "Who are you calling useless?"

"I said not entirely useless, weren't you listening?"

Gene stifled a yawn behind his hand.

"You just came from England?" John asked. He was so quiet, Naru had nearly forgotten he was there in the first place. "You must be very tired."

"Ah," Gene said, "that is an understatement." He eyed the priest's curly blond hair and bright blue eyes. "Are you from England?"

John waved a hand, "Oh no. I'm from Australia."

"Gene-san, we were just making tea. Would you like some?"

"Oh, no really, we should be going. If we're not careful, we will miss the last train."

Naru glanced up at the clock on the back wall. "Is it that late already?"

Gene bowed to the room. "I'm sorry again for the interruption."

"Don't worry about it. Take care,"

Naru slid back into his jacket that was resting on the back of the couch, murmuring so that Mai could hear, "I will be back tomorrow after school."

"Of course."

After bidding goodbye to the others, the twins headed for the door, Naru shivering slightly as he held the door open for his brother. It was unexpectedly cold for April.

As he slipped passed, Gene eyed the small scabbed line over his cheek and scowled. "What happened to your face?"

Naru let the door fall closed behind him, imagining he heard Mai's faint giggle as he turned to the stairs. He said, "Paper cut."

"On your face?"

"That's not such an odd place," Naru mused, barely audible above the din of the growing crowd. He lead them down the ground floor, keeping half an eye on his brother as they made their way toward the city's center.

Naru didn't exactly enjoy the walk from the second floor Dogenzaka office to the overpopulated Shibuya station, but the next closest station was a half-hour walk to Shinsen and that was a non-option. The bright lights and crowds of people were normally not so bad if he left early enough to head off the thriving nightlife, but not tonight. He'd stayed at the office longer than usual and now they were paying for it as they passed the dazzling lights of the cinema. Gene lagged a step behind, distracted by the phone buzzing in his palm.

He could have imagined it, but he could have sworn Gene glared at the phone before stowing it back in his pocket. As they walked, Naru could feel Gene's gaze on him, scrutinizing the thin layer of dust that has clung to clothes.

"What?"

Gene pulled a face, eyebrows knitting together. "You're sure you're alright?"

"Why?"

After spending more than a few weeks without much company at all, it was odd to glance over his shoulder and find Gene there at his heels. It was a feeling of both anxiety and relief as it sank in that the apartment was going to be crowded once again, but at least he wouldn't have to do his own washing anymore.

Gene considered him for another few steps before shaking his unkempt head. It seemed the 12-hour flight did nothing for his bedhead. "Nothing, nevermind."

When they finally made it to the station, Naru had to endure Gene's panicked fit as he ravaged his pockets to find his train pass only to realize it was in his hand the whole time. With a sigh of relief, they both descended to the underground platform.

Naru glanced up at the dispatch board as they passed, "The next train is at 9 o'clock."

Gene checked the time on the glowing screen of his cell phone. "It's only a few minutes."

Naru leaned back against one of the pillars as they waited, a small crowd gathering on either side of them. Gene shifted from side to side beside him, fumbling with his phone as it vibrated again. This time Naru couldn't mistake the glare as he flipped up the screen and pushed a button before flipping it closed again.

Naru looked away, watching the board change to display newer train arrivals as he said, "It's okay. You can take it."

"No, it can wait." Gene said, "It's fine."

But, Naru thought, you don't really believe that. With his brother thousands of miles away, the connection between them had been little more than occasional tweaks and instances of feeling. Now, standing barely feet from each other, it seemed the distance may have over-extended the ability of the bond/connection. It buzzed between them; there, but just barely. Just enough to transmute vague feelings of irritation/ill will. Knowing that it could have been leftover feelings from the case, Naru still eyed his brother with suspicion. Gene was biting his lip, fidgeting with the hem of his pockets as his eyes were unfocused, centered on something in the distance.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Gene dropped his hands, resorting to cracking them at the knuckle instead. "What do you mean?"

Their connection wasn't forged by eye contact, but as their similar blue-grey shades met, a name surfaced. Kaori. It took a moment for the name to connect to the face of a rather plain girl Naru had seen hanging around Gene and his friends at school.

"Oh," Naru said automatically, the pieces falling together. "You broke up."

"Stay out of my head." Gene seethed.

"What happened?"

Gene realized he wasn't going worm his way out of an explanation. He relinquished his lips, having accidentally made himself bleed. He said, "She was cheating on me. With some senior — Tagumi-kun or something."

Naru pitched an eyebrow, "Didn't you just fly in? How did you find out?"

"When I saw you weren't home I went to the school to see if you were still there and I saw them."

Naru caught the briefest of images of a girl with long, straight black hair pressed up against an unfamiliar, tall tanned boy. He scrunched his nose, dismissing the image from his head. The connection seemed to be healing much quicker than neither he'd wanted nor expected. In only a few minutes they exchanged not only feelings but images — thoughts. It begged the thought, if they'd been away any longer, would the connection have broken beyond repair? He supposed it didn't matter.

He also supposed he should say sorry or something, but the words wouldn't have been sincere. Naru had never known why they were together in the first place and Gene wouldn't want his pity anyway.

"This is about you not me," Gene said, cuffing Naru on the shoulder with his phone, "Don't you ever ignore my calls ever again or I swear."

An empty threat. Naru rubbed his shoulder as a rush of air hit them from the end of the tunnel. The train had arrived. "The ghost did it."

.

.

Naru welcomed the warmth of the apartment on his icy fingers. The walk from the train station wasn't a long one, but it was long enough for him to appreciate the convenience of being driven as he tried to block the wind from freezing his damp shirt to his chest. Naru shed his coat as soon as Gene locked the door behind them and stepped out of his shoes.

"Tadaima..."

Gene was standing in the entryway, eyes sliding over the orderly interior of the small apartment. His face was empty of any emotion in the same way that Naru's would, except where it looked menacing on him, it only succeeded in making the older twin look dazed. It'd been weeks since Gene had lived in the small apartment and Naru had no doubt his brother was already missing the English lifestyle he'd been living until then.

Naru hung his jacket in the small closet. "Welcome home," he said.

His voice seemed to shake his brother out of whatever trance he'd been in. Gene blinked as if really seeing him for the first time. "Why are you wet?"

Naru followed his gaze down to his stained midriff. The tea had dyed the fabric a dull, translucent brown that stuck to his skin. With a huff, he stomped to the small bedroom, peeling the cold and sticky shirt off and tossing it into the corner of the room with the other dirty laundry. Reaching for a clean t-shirt, he said, "Don't ask."

Gene chuckled but didn't follow him in. He hovered in the entryway, his hands in his jacket pockets and making no move to take it off.

Naru pulled on the threadbare shirt, wishing he had a sweatshirt to wear instead. Despite the warmth of the apartment it was still colder than he would have liked, but they couldn't turn the heat up anymore. "I could use some tea." He mumbled, turning back to Gene. "What's wrong?"

Gene didn't answer. He glanced down, palming his cell phone again, making an effort to keep his face blank. "I have to go. I promised to meet someone."

"You're leaving?"

"I'll be back later." Gene said, not looking up. He stepped back toward the door, lifting the phone to his ear. "Don't wait up," he called over his shoulder.

Naru stared incredulously as the door closed behind him. "What was the point?" It all seemed quite senseless for his brother to go through the trouble of finding him only to leave him once they were home. He thought of rushing out the door and telling Gene that — surely he hadn't gone far yet — but putting himself back in the cold wasn't worth it. He could deal with it later, when they could argue over a hot cup of tea instead of the cold apartment stairway.

He quite intended to stay up until Gene returned, but after a few hours, he'd finished studying for his upcoming exams and the tea was beginning to make him sleepy. Unwilling to admit he was giving up, he told himself he had class in the morning and he could talk to Gene then. Except, it seemed Gene wasn't planning on attending school the next morning.

Awoken by his alarm, Naru wasn't surprised to find himself alone in the small bedroom. He pulled on his uniform and ran a hand through his hair to tame his bedhead. When he passed the kitchen to brush his teeth, he saw his brother leaning on his elbow at the table, eyes closed and still wearing his clothes from yesterday. The room smelled like fresh coffee that he suspected must have been in the mug by Gene's arm.

Gene didn't wake as Naru went about the daily routine he'd become accustomed to in his brother's absence. In fact, he barely stirred as Naru set his bowl of cereal on the wood with a loud clank. Fortunately, a swift kick to the shin from the other end of the table woke Gene with a jolt. Naru didn't feel too bad as he continued with his breakfast and Gene wiped the drool from his chin with the back of his hand.

"Morning,"

"G'mornin…" the elder twin stretched in his chair, joints cracking. "What time is it?"

"Nearly eight," Naru said, "I waited for you last night. When did you get in?"

Gene frowned in a sleepy sort of way and leaned on his arms like a pillow. "I told you not to."

Naru finished his cereal. "You should get dressed. We have to leave soon."

"Leave?" Gene mumbled into his arm. "I don't work until 10…"

"You're not going to class?"

Naru waited for his answer as Gene slowly lifted his head and attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes. "I'm on leave until next week," he said as if it were all the explanation he needed.

Naru stood and rinsed his bowl in the sink. "Where did you go last night?

The question seemed to clear the fog on Gene's expression. He pushed away from the table and saddled up beside his brother to clean his coffee mug. This time it was his turn to say, "Don't ask."

.

.

The train ride from school to the heart of Shibuya wasn't nearly as cold as it had been the night before. The sun had done its best to take the edge off the wind and it seemed the station workers had finally turned on the heat, so it was a rather comfortable ride.

Mai greeted him with a guilty smile when he finally made it to the office. It looked as if he had interrupted a conversation between her and Lin-san as he shrugged out of his jacket and loosened his school tie. Mai offered him tea and biscuits as Lin-san sat down at the desk settled in front of the kitchenette, busying himself with his familiar laptop.

"This is your desk," Mai said, tapping the smooth wood of the desk by the door. As Naru pulled out his chair he cast a jealous look over to Lin-san. Why was he being delegated to the desk that caught the chilly air whenever the door was opened?

No sooner had he strung his bag across the chair and settled down than Mai dumped a thick pile of folders on the desk. They were not unlike the folder she had given him at the beginning of the last case, except all marked with a different kanji. He shuffled through them. "What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Mainly sorting," Mai said, heading back toward her office. She mumbled something to Lin-san as she passed him and he nodded. Naru tried not to notice the immediate awkwardness that settled over the pair of them when Mai was out of view. Lin-san kept his attention on his work and Naru was only too happy to reciprocate.

Since then, he'd spent his time working through the files Mai left on his desk and filling out the necessary fields. It was boring and a bit tedious but interesting to see the progression of the cases before the one at his school. An older couple who were adamant the flickering lights in their housing block were the work of a spirit and not old electrical lines. A woman who was sure her recent string of bad luck was due to a family curse and not at all just a bad personality.

Naru was beginning to question Mai's ability to point out a fraud. Why take such cases when their causes were nothing short of ordinary? Counting the case at the school and the most recent one for Ejiri-san, only two of the eight cases turned out to be supernatural in nature. But of course, despite the circumstances, Lin-san's reports were straightforward and meticulously detailed. Naru was halfway through a rather interesting case of a family of five feeling as if someone were watching them, that turned out to be carbon monoxide poisoning, when he was distracted by the arrival of Hara-san.

She smiled when he looked up, a small thing, barely a quirk of the lips as she quickly hid it behind her sleeve. He was immediately reminded of her shy reception the previous night. "Hello, Shibuya-san."

"Hara-san," Naru inclined his head.

She looked quickly away. "I apologize for my lateness, has the client arrived yet?"

"Client?"

"Yes, Mai mentioned she would like my opinion on a potential client."

Naru frowned. Mai hadn't said anything about a possible case. "We don't have any—"

He was interrupted by the chiming of the door. "Excuse me," a soft voice called.

Naru stood as a woman with bushy brown hair came into view. Her pinched expression made her look older than she was.

She looked skeptically between Hara-san, dressed in her token floral kimono, and him still in his school blazer. "I'm sorry, can you help me? I think my house might be haunted."

A/N: I am so very sorry for taking so long to write and I hope this chapter isn't too boring for everyone, but this is the beginning of a very interesting ride for the SPR crew. A continuous thanks to Mimori Taniyama for being the most amazing beta out there and not giving up on me even though I spend a lot of time not writing. More thanks to Lily, and ToaTepsak for always answering any insecurities I have with sarcasm and encouragement. And, of course, a shout-out to everyone who reviewed;

Soulsborne123, NinjaPenguinLover, Puff the Evil Dragon, The Night Whisperer, YawnD03, PidgeTechNerd and Guest.

Read, relax, and review!

ELV